Car coupler



1,522,725 w. KELSO CAR COUPLER Filed Nov. 18, 1922 WILLIAM KELSO, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE MGCONWA'Y &

TORLEY COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA,

SYLVANIA.

Application filed November To all whomc't may 00mm Be it known that I, WILLiAM KELso, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car Couplers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to car couplers of the MasterCar Builders type, and particularly to the form commonly designated as the standard D-coupler. The features of improved construction hereinafter described and claimed are, however, not limited in their application to the D-coupler.

The principal object of the invention is to provide positive and reliably functioning means for preventing accidental unlocking of the coupler when it is equipped with top operating release mechanism for actuating the lock, said top release rigging being customarily used where the couplers are applied to freight cars.

lhe look by which outward rotation of the knuckle of the standard D-coupler is restrained is a vertically sliding and rearwardly swinging member which rests upon a horizontally rotatable knuckle opening lever when the parts are in locked relation. This lock is formed with a leg extending downwardly into an opening in the bottom of the coupler head. While, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the lower part of the leg of the coupler lock may assume a position at the front of the opening in the bottom of the coupler head, the leg more commonly positions itself in the rear part of this opening, such being its natural position by reason of the fact that the center of gravity of the locking block is located above and in advance of the point at which the lock is supported upon the knuckle opening lever. The permissible manufacturing tolerances of parts of D-couplers sometimes result in the leg of the lock assuming a position at the forward part of the opening in the coupler head or at some intermediate point of the opening when the mechanism is new, but subsequent wear of the parts causes the said leg to assume a normal locked position in the rear part of this opening.

a conro-nnrroiv or rumican" courier 18, 1922. Serial No. 601,817.

In passing over high and low points of railway tracks the friction existing between the pulling faces of the knuckles of connected couplers causes the outer end of each knuckle to move vertically and induces its rear portion or part which bears against the locking block to move in an opposite vertical direction. The necessity for a lock-tothe-lock device for preventing accidental unlocking of the couplers is occasioned by these movements of the knuckles in service, because the friction which exists between the" knuckle and the coupler lock tends .to cause the lock to creep upwardly and assume an unlocked position or it may impel the lock to take various other positions which may be permitted by the space in which the locking block can move.

In the D-coupler when equipped for top operation such an movement of the lock is designed to be prevented by the lock lifter member of the mechanism, whose lower end when the parts are locked extends beneath a shoulder or look down lug upon the coupler head. Because of the nature of these parts and their mode of combination they do not invariably function with reliability to prevent accidental unlocking of the coupler lock, for the ability of the lower end of the locking block to move backward and forward while the lock is in locked position effects a similar movement of the upper part of the lock and this movement by reason of the friction between the lock and the lower portion of the lifter tends to cause the latter to move outwardly from beneath the shoulder or look down lug of the coupler head, thus permit ting the lock to complete an unlocking movement. The specific object of the invention is to improve the lock-to-the-lock mechanism of this type of coupler so as to render it entirely effective.

In the drawings illustrating my invention as applied to a Master Car Builders standard D-coupler,

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a coupler, the lock, knuckle opener, knuckle and lock lifter being shown in elevation, the parts being in looked relation and the lower end of the leg of the lock being shown as positioned in the forward part of the opening through the bottom wall of the coupler head,

accidental unlocking- Figure 2 is a detail view corresponding to Fig.1, portions of the lock being broken away and the leg of the lock being illustrated as positioned in the rear part of the opening through the floor of the coupler head.

Figure 3 is a detail view, partly in rear elevation and partly in transverse section, of a portion of the mechanisi In the drawings, 1 is the coupler head and 2 is the knuckle, the latter beingrotatably mounted upon the head by means of a knuckle pin 3. Cast integrally with the coupler head 1 and extending rearwardly therefrom is the usual hollow rectangular stem 4. The knuckle 2 is normally locked against outward rotation by a lock 5 capable of sliding vertically and swinging rearwardly in the coupler head. When in locked position the lock is seated upon the knuckle opener 6 Which, in the D-coupler, is in the form of a horizontally rotatable lever pivotally mounted upon the coupler head. The upper portion of the lock 5 vertically overlaps the tail of'the knuckle when the parts are locked, thus maintaining said knuckle in coupled position. The lower part of the lock is formed as a depending leg 7 which extends downwardly through an opening Sin the floor of the coupler head. When the lock 5 after having been raised sufiiciently to release the knuckle performs its rearward swinging movement the depending leg 7 presses rearwardly against the adjacent end of the knuckle opening lever 6, thus causing the latter to rotate and thereby effect an out ward rotation of the knuckle to open posi- A tlon.

The lock 5 is actuated to perform its vertically sliding and rearwardly swinging movements, through which the coupler is unlocked and its knuckle opened, by means of a lifter 9 whichis movably connected to the lock and extends upwardly therefrom through an opening in the top wall of the coupler head. In order to detachably connect the lifter to the lock 5 in a manner permitting said lifter to have sliding and pivotal movements with respect to said lock, the upper end of the latter is provided with a slot 10 which opens both upwardly and rearwardly. The bottom wall 11 of this slot is inclined downwardly toward the rear and the side walls are provided with recesses 12 of the usual form for receiving and serving as pivotal bearings for the trunnions or pintle members borne by the lifter 9 at its lower end.

The lock lifter 9 is provided at its lower end with oppositely extending pintles or trunnions 13 which respectively project into the recesses 12 of the lock 5. As shown, these trunnions are preferably of segmental form inasmuch as such a construction permits the lifter 9 to be employed with the I Abovejthe portion -vided is enabled to enter the slot form of locking block 5 notwithstanding that said lifter is designed to execute a preliminary movement toward the lock down lug 14 of the coupler before its lower end may be withdrawnfronrbeneath said lug. The lower endof the lifter member 9 is formed somewhat abovethe trunnions 13 with a portion 15 extending under and spaced vertically from the lock down lug or shoulder 14 formed on the interior of the coupler at the junction of the head 1 and upper wallof the stem 4; and said lifter is also provided at its lower end with a downwardly extending lug 16 whichoverlaps and is adapted to engage the rear face of the lock 5. By the engagement of this lug with the lock 5 the lower end of the lifter 9 is normally restrained from being retracted into the slot 10 of the lock. This prevents the lower end of the lifter from being accidentally forced from beneath the lock down lug l4 and requires that the lower end of said lifter shall execute a preliminary vertical movement toward said lug before the lifter may be shifted from beneath the latter.

standard of the lifter 9 which projects under the lug 14 of the coupler the lifter is provided with a rear face 17 which, when the parts are in locked position, extends vertically upward so as to overlap the lock down lug 14 at a point substantially as far above the rearwardly projectin portion 15 of the lifter as the upper face of said projecting portion stands above the rear end of the bottom wall 11 of the slot 10 in which said lifter operates. This face 17 located between the ends of the lifter bears against the lock down lug 14 when the parts are in locked relation and serves to prevent the lifter from dropping too low or from passing completely into the interior of the cou pler head of a coupler in which the lock down lug 14 may have been initially cast too short or become worn down through service.

When the lock lifter 9 is pulled upwardly its lower end moves vertically toward the lock down lug 14 until the downwardly extending lug 16 with which-the lifter is pro- 10 of the lock 51 After this preliminary movement has been performed the lower endof the lifter 9 is withdrawn from beneath thelug 14 of the coupler head and is retracted into the slot 10 of the lock. As soon as the trunnions 13 reach the upper ends of the recesses 12 in the side walls of the lock the said lock is caused to move vertically until the knuckle 2 is unlocked and is free to perform an outward rotation. Further upwardpull upon the lifter 9 causes the leg 7 of the lock to swing rearwardly and actuate the knuckle opener 6.

1. In a car coupler, the combination with said knuckle, of

a coupler head, a knuckle, and a vertically sliding and rearwardly swinging lock for said knuckle, of a litter for moving said lock to unlocked position, said lock and said lifter being provided with cooperating means constituting a sliding pivotal connection, said head having a shoulder adapted to engage said litter to prevent accidental unlocking of said lock, said lifter having a portion which projects under and is vertically spaced from said shoulder when the lock and litter are in normal locked relation, and said lifter being provided with means for preventing it from being withdrawn from beneath said shoulder until after it has executed a preliminary movement toward said shoulder.

2. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head, of a knuckle, and a vertically sliding and rearwardly swinging lock for said knuckle, of a litter for moving said lock to unlocked position, said head having a shoulder adapted to engage said lifter to prevent accidental unlocking of said lock, the lower end of said lifter being movably connected to said look by means permitting said lifter to slide and turn with respect to said lock, said lifter having at its lower end a portion which projects under and is vertically spaced from said shoulder when the lock and litter are in normal locked relation, and said lifter also being provided with means engaging said lock when the parts are in normal locked relation to prevent the lower end of said litter from being withdrawn from beneath said shoulder until after said end has executed a preliminary movement toward said shoulder.

3. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head, a knuckle, and a vertically sliding and rearwardly swinging lock for a lifter for moving said lock to unlocked position, said head being provided with a shoulder adapted to engage the lower end of said litter to prevent accidental unlocking of said lock, said lock be ing slotted at its upper end to receive said litter and being provided with guideways for receiving corresponding trunnions carried by said lifter, said lifter having at its lower end a portion which extends under and is spaced vertically from said shoulder when the lock and litter are in locked relation and having oppositely extending trunnions respectively projecting into said guideways and slidably and pivotally movable therein and also being provided with a downwardly extending lug which normally engages said lock to prevent the lower end oi said litter from being withdrawn from beneath said shoulder until after it has executed a preliminary movement toward said shoulder.

l. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head, a knuckle, and a vertically sliding and rearwardly swinging lock for said knuckle, of a litter for moving said lock to unlocked position, said lock and lifter being provided with cooperating means constituting a sliding pivotal connection, said head having a shoulder spaced vertically from and extending over the lower end of the lifter when the latter is in locked relation and adapted to engage said lifter to prevent accidental unlocking of said lock, and said lifter being provided with means or engaging said lock to prevent the lower end of said lifter from being withdrawn from beneath said shoulder until after it has executed a preliminary movement toward said shoulder.

5. In a car coupler, the combination with a coupler head, a knuckle and a vertically sliding and rearwardly swinging lock for said knuckle, of a litter movably connected to and extending upwardly from said lock for moving the latter to unlocked position, said head being provided with a shoulder adapted to engage the lower end of said lifter to prevent accidental unlocking of said lock, said lock being provided with an upwardly and rearwardly opening slot receiving said litter and through the rear end of which the lower end of said lifter projects so as to stand beneath said shoulder when the parts are in locked relation, and said lifter being formed with a rear face which when the parts are in locked relation overlaps the said shoulder substantially as far above said lower projecting end of said lifter as the upper face of said projecting end stands above the rear end of the bottom of said slot.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature,

WILLIAM KELSO. 

